This Week's Apple Rumors, Ranked From Dumbest to Most Plausible

Share

This Week's Apple Rumors, Ranked From Dumbest to Most Plausible

Ariel Zambelich/WIRED

Each week, there are dozens of rumors, reports, and patent filings that hint at what’s coming out of Cupertino next. Some are legit, but many are totally bogus. As always, we’ve parsed the rumors, ranking them in order from "utterly ridiculous" to "duh, of course." First up…

DON'T COUNT ON IT: Photos of Next Gen Touch ID Sensor EmergeFrench site Nowhereelse.fr posted images of what could be the next iPhone's Touch ID sensor alongside the iPhone 5s's sensor. The only visible difference between the two versions in the images are repositioned screw holes. The new sensor will reportedly be more durable than the current touch sensor in the iPhone 5s, which has proven problematic for a number of users.

DON'T COUNT ON IT: Photos of iPhone 6 Battery EmergeNowhereelse.fr also posted photos of what could be the new iPhone's battery. Photos show a 1,810 mAh battery, an upgrade from the 1,500 mAh model in the current iPhone. If the next iPhone models are going to be larger, as every single rumor and report seems to point to, then the smartphone could use a boost in battery power to maintain or improve its current level of battery life. The battery is from Desay Battery, a manufacturing company rumored to be certified to produce batteries for the next iPhone. But as far as the picture goes, it's just a picture of a battery, and could belong to any number of mobile devices.

DON'T COUNT ON IT: iPhone to Get 13-Megapixel Camera UpgradeWhile competitors have touted shooters with 13-, 20-, or even 41-megapixel specs, for the last few iterations, Apple has kept the iPhone at a respectable 8-megapixels. Instead of focusing on the number, Apple claims it's improved the lens and camera sensor technology (and based on our experience with it compared to other smartphone cameras, it seems to be holding up just fine). But a report out China suggests Apple could be upping the pixel count on its rear-facing camera from 8 to 13. The report says Apple will be using an updated version of Sony's Exmor sensor. This sounds dubious, given Apple's past camera updating behaviors, which usually happens on the "s" product cycles, as well as the fact that upping the pixel count can reduce low-light performance (unless the sensor is also similarly bumped up in size, which is a possibility).

ASK AGAIN LATER: Apple Partnering With British Fuel Cell CompanyApple could be partnering with a British firm to make its mobile devices and laptops greener in the future, a report from The Daily Mail suggests. Intelligent Energy, a fuel cell firm, has entered into a clandestine partnership with "an international electronics company" to buy a handful of patents, and a source revealed the company was Apple. Apple has been reportedly investigating the use of fuel cells in its products since 2011. Fuel cells could potentially help devices be lighter, smaller, and more battery efficient than current battery technology allows. If Apple does partner with Intelligent Energy (or any other fuel cell firms) we could start seeing this technology in devices in a few years time.

ASK AGAIN LATER: iPhone 6 Production to Begin Next Week, in August for Larger ModelMass production of the 4.7-inch model of Apple's next iPhone is scheduled to start next week, according to a report from the Economic Daily (via 9to5Mac). The larger 5.5-inch version won't get its turn until later in August due to a variety of production issues. We've also been starting to see more and more parts leaks, as well as signs that production of the next iPhone's sapphire displays are well on their way. For products we expect Apple to debut onstage and in-store in late September to early October, the timing of this report does sound about right. And if it proves true, we could start seeing far more iPhone leaks in the coming weeks.

SIGNS POINT TO YES: Find My iPhone Could Get New Security FeaturesFind My iPhone is Apple's premier security feature for its mobile products (outside of password locks and TouchID). Some new intellectual property shows the company is definitely working to improve this service. A patent filing published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark office Thursday shows how Find My iPhone could give the finder of an iOS device the ability to communicate with one of the phone's contacts. For the (rare) occasion when an honest person finds a locked iOS device, it can be difficult to reunite it with its owner. If the finder could make a call or text to one of the phone's contacts to say "Hey, I found this iPhone at the bar, how do I get it back to its owner?" the situation could be easier. Right now, Find My iPhone is useful in locating and remotely wiping a lost device, but not so helpful in getting it back. Another patent application would give users the ability to set an alert or even lock a device if significant changes in behavior are detected. The phone would passively monitor behavior patterns, and when those don't match the usual ones, an action would be triggered. The user would have privacy controls over what sort of data is and isn't tracked for this feature, and where the alert notification would go to (a third party device like a computer, or a family member's smartphone, for instance).